- Progressives in the House are asking Biden to cancel a Senate official and keep a minimum wage of $ 15 in the stimulus plan.
- The effort is led by Rep. Ro Khanna, but signatories include Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
- “If we don’t annul the Senate congressman, we will be tolerating the poverty wages of millions of Americans,” said Khanna.
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A group of House progressives is asking the Biden government in a new letter to ignore the Senate congressman and maintain a $ 15 minimum wage under the $ 1.9 trillion stimulus plan.
The effort to increase pressure on President Joe Biden is made up of 23 progressive legislators led by Rep. Ro Khanna of California. The problem comes after Senate congresswoman Elizabeth MacDonough dropped the $ 15 minimum wage on Thursday night, determining that the measure violated the guidelines of the budget reconciliation process.
The decision generated calls of some progressive lawmakers fire the congressman, a step taken by the Senate Republicans in 2001. But the letter to the White House only pressures them to disregard the decision and maintain the wage increase.
“This decision is a bridge too far. We have been asked, politely but firmly, to commit ourselves to almost all of our principles and objectives. Not this time,” Khanna said in a statement. “If we don’t annul the Senate congressman, we will be tolerating the poverty wages of millions of Americans.”
Signatories included representatives Alexandria Ocasio Cortez from New York, Rashida Tlaib from Michigan, Ilhan Omar from Minnesota, Jamaal Bowman from New York and Pramila Jayapal from Washington.
During the House vote to approve the bailout, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Democrats would find a way to enact a $ 15 minimum wage. But some liberals seem increasingly frustrated by slow progress.
“I think progressives are really tired of making a commitment,” a progressive adviser to the House told Insider. “We are tired of playing well and voting, without sinking Pelosi’s accounts and receiving nothing in return.”
The aide spoke on condition of anonymity to speak openly about the dynamics of the House.
The Biden government has vehemently indicated that it would not disregard the parliamentarian’s decision. White House chief of staff Ron Klain dismissed the approach late last week.
Replacing MacDonough would require 60 votes in the Senate, meaning that 10 Republicans would have to join all Democrats in the chamber. Even so, Republicans are vehemently opposed to the $ 15 an hour minimum wage.
Senate Democrats are also not unified, as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin told CNN last month that he would not vote to annul the congressman. It also does not support a $ 15 minimum wage and instead supports $ 11 an hour linked to inflation.
The prospect of a wage increase is increasingly in doubt for the stimulus package. After the decision, the Senate’s top Democrats, including Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Ron Wyden of Oregon, followed up with an alternative proposal to impose penalties on large corporations that did not pay workers below an undetermined salary.
They rejected the proposal over the weekend, leaving the way ahead uncertain for a pay rise. Congress has not increased the federal minimum wage by $ 7.25 an hour since 2009.